PUMPING IRON IN WEE HOURS: WINDSOR MAN GETS EARLY -- VERY EARLY -- START ON THE WORK DAY WITH HEALTHY ROUTINE AT ALL-NIGHT GYM

At 3:30 a.m., when most businesses are still dark, Victor Crusselle uses his members-only key to let himself into Anytime Fitness Gym.

Dressed in board shorts, a T-shirt and gym shoes, he enjoys the solitude and listens to music on the radio while working his way through a free-weight routine.

Crusselle, 41, has been working out since he was in eighth grade at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Ga. Physical training was mandatory, introducing him to a habit that stuck with him.

For the past decade he has worked as a welder and iron worker, a family trade that he eventually picked up. He now builds privacy gates, deck and stair railing and the structural steel used for commercial and residential buildings.

That may be why he prefers to exercise before work, when he feels more awake and has more energy.

"The day seems to go better that way, too, because you have better focus," Crusselle said. "It seems like if you don't work out, you don't have the energy."

In order to make time, he gets up at 2:30 a.m., has a cup of coffee, gets to the gym around 3:30 a.m. and works out for an hour or 90 minutes four to five days a week.

That leaves him time to return home, eat a little breakfast and still hit the road by 6:15 a.m. He drives to Sonoma and arrives in time to have a second breakfast before starting work at 8:30 a.m.

By 5 p.m., he's back in the car again, heading for Windsor where he has lived for the past three years with his fiancee, Lori.

Their evening together is short -- he's in bed by 7:30 or 8 p.m. -- but they have time to cook dinner, discuss their days and watch a little television, he said.

He tries to follow the same routine on the weekends, but admitted that he plays catch up on Saturdays and Sundays and often has a hard time sleeping past 3:30 or 4 a.m.

Sometimes he wishes he could stay up later, he said, but this is his schedule and he prefers to be alone.

Crusselle grew up in Orlando, Fla., but moved to Windsor to be with Lori, who has lived here 15 years. She belonged to Anytime Fitness, which is why he joined a few months ago.

"There are actually a lot more people than you think who work out at this time," he said. "I used to go to another gym and there were about five people there working out in the early morning."

Crusselle and Lori are getting married this year and are expecting their first child in early fall. He said he hopes to continue working out when the baby arrives.

"I could probably take the little guy with me and let him sleep while I go through my routine," he said. "Probably wishful thinking though."

For now, he works with dumbbells, a cable machine and straight bar before shifting to weight machines to burn out his muscles at the end of each routine.

"It is nice to be able to go to muscle failure without worrying about dropping the weight," he said "The machines are just safer for that."

With safety on his mind, Crusselle's thoughts shifts back to the baby. After his child is born, he said, he may switch to CrossFit training.

Although he works in a blue-collar environment, Crusselle said the scope of his work doesn't seem to take a physical toll on his body.

"It's not that bad really. Your body is amazing, and it will adjust to whatever demands you place on it," he said. "It's one of the main reasons that I go to the gym.

"I want to be healthy enough to play and participate in all of the activities that my son would like to do. We are starting our family late in life, and I don't want to be that dad who can't keep up."